Two arrested on gang rape charges

KANYAKUMARI: Kotticode police have arrested two youths for allegedly raping a woman on January 28. The police said that the victim, 46, residing near Kotticode, was offered a lift by the two, who were known to her, and taken to a secluded place before being raped. Police said that she was living alone as she had separated from her husband over difference of opinion. They quoted the woman as saying she had gone for purchase of monthly provisions and was waiting for a bus at Kotticode, to return home late in the evening on that day.
At that time the accused Anish, 21, and Sampath, 24, came there on a bike and offered her a lift. The police said that she accepted the help as Anish was well known to her, but was shocked when they rode the bike in a different direction and took her to a secluded place. She was raped and let go with a warning that they will kill her if she told anyone about the incident. The woman reached home and later told her relatives about her ordeal.
On the delay for registering a case, the police said that the victim lodged a complaint only on Wednesday. The duo were booked under sections 376(D) (gang rape) and 506(ii) (criminal intimidation) of the Indian Penal Code, arrested on Thursday and lodged in jail under judicial custody on Thursday.
Inquiry is underway to confirm the allegations or if there is a different story, while the complainant would also be subjected to medical test for the same, police added.